Personal road-rail vehicles

ABSTRACT

The invention transforms conventional vehicles into Personal Road-Rail Vehicles (PRRVs) that have revolutionary dual mode of travel capabilities that permits their being driving as both conventional vehicles on conventional roads and as revolutionary high speed PRRVs on compact Road-Rail Highway Systems (RRHSs) (somewhat vaguely similar to a one car, high speed passenger train). it is envisioned these PRRVs and RRHSs will permit cost effectively upgrading and modernizing the national transportation system and infrastructure by: significantly reducing traffic congestion at major cities and highways by cost-effective adding additional multi-stacked, compact RRHS&#39; lanes on existing real estate; expediting the transition to all electric PRRVs and the construction of electric power grids nationwide to support the embedded power grids in the RRHSs; and lastly by providing automated PRRV travel on RRHSs that will support evolving to fully automatic PRRV travel thus reducing the need for high speed passenger trains.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of the invention is Special Purpose Vehicles. The invention defines a “process of creation” that transforms conventional vehicles (defined: cars, vans, SUVs, hybrids, pickups, etc.) into revolutionary dual mode of travel personal road-rail vehicles (PRRVs) that have the convenience of driving as conventional vehicles on conventional roads and the luxury of automated smart-phone assisted driving as revolutionary high speed, PRRVs traveling on compact, electric hybrid, Road-Rail Highway Systems (RRHSs) (somewhat vaguely similar to a one car, high speed passenger train). These revolutionary PRRVs and RRHSs will permit cost effectively upgrading and modernizing the national transportation system. No similar vehicle functionality is known to exist anywhere in the world. Applicable U.S. patent classification definition closest to this invention is Special Purpose Vehicles which includes mono rail, and car.

2. Prior Art

Conventional automobiles and especially high speed passenger trains are close to achieving their maximum travel energy efficiencies and functionality growth capabilities. The invention creates Personal Road-Rail Vehicles (PRRVs) that have revolutionary dual mode of travel capability that permits their being driving as both conventional vehicles on conventional roads and as revolutionary high speed PRRVs on compact Road-Rail Highway Systems (RRHSs) (somewhat vaguely similar to a one car, high speed passenger train). It is envisioned these PRRVs and RRHSs will permit cost effectively upgrading and modernizing the national transportation system and infrastructure by: significantly reducing traffic congestion at major cities and highways by cost-effective adding additional multi-stacked, compact, high speed RRHS's lanes on existing real estate; expediting the rapid transition to energy efficient, all electric PRRVs and the construction of electric power grids nationwide to support the embedded power grids in the RRHSs thus reducing oil import needs; and lastly by providing revolutionary automated, high speed PRRV travel on compact, electric hybrid, RRHSs that will support evolving to fully automatic PRRV travel thus greatly expanding the transportation functionality while appreciably reducing the need for conventional high speed passenger trains.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention defines a process that transforms conventional vehicles into revolutionary dual mode of travel Personal Road-Rail Vehicles (PRRVs) that have the convenience of driving as conventional vehicles on conventional roads and the luxury of automated smart-phone assisted driving as revolutionary high speed PRRVs traveling on compact, electric hybrid, Road-Rail Highway Systems (RRHSs) (somewhat vaguely similar to a one car, high speed passenger train). In the automated driving mode, all operator PRRV control functions, except steering, continue to be performed by the operator in the same way as for the conventional vehicle, except now the vehicle steering is performed by rail-wheel latching/ steering units that are attached to each of the vehicle's wheel assemblies. These units securely attach and steer the vehicle's wheels to the RRHS's two Guide Rail Assemblies (GRAs) in such a way that they ensures the vehicles are securely constrained to the RRHS's narrow roadway located below and between the two GRAs. AC electric energy for powering the electric PRRVs' travel and “top-off battery charging” is also provided via the two GRAs. It is envisioned these PRRVs and RRHSs will permit cost effectively upgrading and modernizing the national transportation system and infrastructure by: significantly reducing traffic congestion at major cities and highways by cost-effective adding additional multi-stacked, compact, high speed RRHSs' lanes on existing real estate; expediting the rapid transition to energy efficient, all electric PRRVs and the construction of smart electric power grids nationwide to support the embedded power grids in the RRHSs' GRAs and thus reducing oil import needs; and lastly by providing revolutionary automated, high speed PRRV travel on compact, electric hybrid, RRHSs that will support evolving to fully automatic PRRV travel thus greatly expanding the transportation functionality while appreciably reducing the need for conventional high speed passenger trains. The invention is envisioned to continue the American love affair with both the evolving energy efficient hybrid automobiles and the “personal hybrid trains” well beyond the 21^(st) century.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Seven drawings are used for the description of the process of creation.

FIG. 1 Multi-layer RRHSs at road edge greatly increasing traffic flow. Shows compact RRHSs stacked in multiple layers at the highway's edge, on existing highway real estate, to greatly increase the traffic volume.

FIG. 2 RWLSUs housed inside PRRV wheel rims facilitates travel on both roads and RRHSs. Shows where the RWLSUs are tucked inside the wheel rims for driving on conventional highways when they are not in use for RRHS travel.

FIG. 3 RWLSU's key components interfacing PRRVs to RRHS's GRAs. Shows the main functional components that are needed to interface the RWLSUs to the RRHS's GRAs.

FIG. 4 PRRV's steering/drive wheel suspension creation with RWLSU. Shows one method using a customized gear assembly to enlarge the wheel rim to permit the installation of a RWLSU inside the rim.

FIG. 5 Front inside view of gear assembly that enables enlarging wheel rim for RWLSU. Shows a front inside view of a typical customized gear assembly that provides the capability to pass both non-moving hardware and a rotating drive axel to permit installing the RWLSU inside the wheel rim.

FIG. 6 RWLSU's EIU and wheel sets inserted/latched in RRHS's GRA. Shows how the RWLSU's electrical interface unit and its two wheel sets are physically positioned inside the RRHS's GRA.

FIG. 7 Front view of a PRRV and RRHS on a typical elevated structure. Shows a front view of a PRRV mounted and interfaced to a compact RRHS for travel on an elevated structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention “defines a process” that transforms conventional vehicles into revolutionary dual mode of travel Personal Road-Rail Vehicles (PRRVs) that have the convenience of driving as conventional vehicles on conventional roads and the luxury of automated smart-phone assisted driving as revolutionary high speed PRRVs traveling on compact, electric hybrid, Road-Rail Highway Systems (RRHSs) (somewhat vaguely similar to a one car, high speed passenger train). In the automated driving mode, all operator PRRV control functions, except steering, continue to be performed by the operator in the same way as for the conventional vehicle, except now the vehicle steering is performed by Rail-Wheel Latching/ Steering Units (RWLSUs) that are attached to each of the PRRV's wheel assemblies. These units securely attach and steer the PRRV's wheels to the

RRHS's two Guide Rail Assemblies (GRAs) in such a way that they ensures the vehicles are securely constrained to the RRHS's narrow roadway located below and between the two GRAs. AC electric energy for powering electric PRRVs' travel and “top-off battery charging” is also provided via the two GRAs.

It is envisioned these PRRVs and RRHSs will permit cost effectively upgrading and modernizing the national transportation system and infrastructure by: significantly reducing traffic congestion at major cities and highways by cost-effective adding additional multi-stacked, compact, high speed RRHSs' lanes on existing real estate; expediting the rapid transition to energy efficient, all electric PRRVs and the construction of smart electric power grids nationwide to support the embedded power grids in the RRHS GRAs and thus reducing oil import needs; and lastly by providing revolutionary automated, high speed PRRV travel on compact, electric hybrid, RRHSs that will support evolving to fully automatic PRRV travel thus greatly expanding the transportation functionality while appreciably reducing the need for conventional high speed passenger trains. The invention is envisioned to continue the American love affair with the evolving energy efficient hybrid automobiles and “personal hybrid trains” well beyond the 21st century.

Detailed description of the PRRV (defined: cars, vans, SUVs, hybrids, pickups, etc.) and the RRHS invention is presented using seven drawings. There is an old saying that basically states “Everything is obvious once you are told the answer”. That saying clearly applies here as once the unique concept of the invention is revealed that enables manufacturing the revolutionary dual-mode of travel vehicles, numerous variations will emerge from necessity as the implementation itself needs to be tailored somewhat for each vehicle type and class to permits its implementation in the hundreds of vehicle models currently available and emerging annually. Hence the detailed description and drawings presented herein are intended to describe the invention's “process of creation” comprising the revolutionary dual-mode of travel PRRVs functionality and not be limited to just the specific hardware creation version presented herein.

(FIG. 1) #1 shows a compact, multi-layer RRHS that is cost-effective (uses appreciable less construction material than conventional large and wide elevated highways that support heavy truck traffic, construction vehicles, etc.) and flexible in that multiple RRHSs may be conveniently constructed at both the ground level and stacked at various elevated layers on the edge or in the medium of an existing crowded highway (FIG. 1) #2, thus appreciably increasing the traffic volume capacity without requiring additional roadway real-estate. (FIG. 1) #3 shows a PRRV entering an entry point of a RRHS from a conventional road and then driving according to posted instructions (sign not shown) onto a narrow road-rail path (FIG. 1) #4 that properly aligns the vehicle's wheels on a narrow, compact roadway located between the two RRHS's Guide Rail Assemblies (GRAs). At location (FIG. 1) #5 the driver instructs its PRRV's smart-phone control unit (contains PRRV specialized applications; unit not shown) to automatically task the Rail-Wheel Latching/Steering Units (RWLSUs) located inside the PRRV's enlarged wheel rims (shown and discussed in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) to securely latch the vehicle's wheels to the guide rails and to securely maintain the vehicle's position on the narrow roadway by steering its wheels using the guide rails as reference.

For electric powered vehicles, the driver may also instruct the smart-phone control unit to task the RWLSUs to extend/ engage an Electric Interface Unit (EIU) to extract AC electric power from the guide rail's AC electric tracks, located inside the GRAs, to power the electric vehicle (addressed in FIG. 3). These AC electric tracks are physically located deep within the guide rails to minimize accidental contact by for people (addressed FIG. 6). AC electric power is used because it is compatible with the vehicles' charging provisions available at their home and at various charging stations. Once the vehicle is securely latched and interfaced with the guide rails, the driver then proceeds up onto the RRHS to the first junction which is a “merge to the right” action (FIG. 1) #6. Approaching the junction, the driver tasks the smart-phone control unit to execute a “merge to the right” task. The smart-phone control unit responds by keeping the right side RWLSUs latched at all time while unlatching the left hand side RWLSUs through the turn and then re-latching them on the straight-away and reporting upon completing the turn. Guide rail sensors will be provided to indicate the vehicles' physical location/zone to aid the control unit's execution timing. This feature is not part of the claim.

(FIG. 2) Shows a PRRV (FIG. 2) #3 with its RWLSUs (FIG. 2) #7 (and (FIG. 4)#7) safely tucked inside each of the PRRV's enlarged wheel rim and positioned behind the outer most part of the tire (FIG. 7) #7 for its protect against being hit by road objects when driving on conventional roads. The shown wheels extend out and latch into the RRHS GRA as addressed in (FIG. 3).

(FIG. 3) Shows a RWLSU, (FIG. 3) #7 with its cover removed to reveal typical key components used for interfacing PRRV's wheels to RRHS's GRAs. RWLSU's mission is to perform the mechanical functions essential for automated PRRV travel that include securely attaching and steering the PRRV's wheels to the RRHS's GRAs in a way that ensures the PRRV is securely constrained to the RRHS with the PRRV's wheels positioned and guided on a narrow roadway located below and between the GRA's two guide rails. RWLSUs contains hardware that consists of two hydraulic telescoping, physically robust arms (FIG. 3) #8 that are fully extended and attached to a sliding angle fixture (FIG. 3) #9 that permits separating the steering dual wheels further apart for improved steering stability at higher vehicle speeds. Hardware used for separating the dual wheels consist of two small hydraulic telescoping arms (FIG. 3) #11 attached to two end slider sub-assemblies (FIG. 3) #12 that support the dual wheels. Each set of dual wheels (FIG. 3) #10 when fully extended outward fit inside the compatibly guide rail track cavities (shown in (FIG. 6)). These fully extended dual wheels are then rotated 90 degrees by small gear motors (FIG. 3)#13 thus securely latching the wheels inside the rail cavity and securely attaching the PRRV to the guide rails for high speed travel. This is one method of many possible versions that would satisfactorily lock the wheels within the cavity. For electric powered PRRVs, AC three phase power is provided by extracting it from the guide rail's AC electric track via an EIU (FIG. 3) #15. AC power extraction is accomplished by the RWLSUs extending a smaller, third hydraulic arm (FIG. 3) #14, shown in the retracted position, in a similar manner as the first two arms and inserting the EIU (FIG. 3) #15 into the AC electrical tracks located deep inside the guide rails' cavities (shown in FIG. 6). Due to the EIU's storage position being located behind the dual wheel sets, its extension is required to be performed following the first two arms being extended and the wheels being rotated and latched. (FIG. 3) #16 shows the strong, rigid mounting plate of the RWLSU's housing with its bolt mounting holes and interface cables connection holes provisions. Three bolt mounting holes FIG. 3 #17 permit firmly affixing the housing via the three bolts (FIG. 4) #22 (only one of three bolts is shown for simplicity) directly to the PRRVs' non-rotating drive wheel suspension knuckle unit (FIG. 4) #19. Three large pass-through openings (FIG. 3) #18 support passing various control cables plus returning the AC power obtained from the guide rails by the RWLSU's EIU for the electric PRRVs.

(FIG. 4) shows the creation of a typical PRRV steering/drive wheel suspension design that facilitates installing a stationary RWLSU housing unit inside an enlarge rotating wheel rim. A drawing is not provided for the vehicles' non-drive wheels for simplicity sake as that drawing would be basically the same as (FIG. 4) except that the knuckle unit (FIG. 4) #19 would be replaced by a unit that is rigidly affixed to the vehicle's wheel suspension hardware, and the driven axel (FIG. 4) #26 would be replaced with a free wheeling, non-driven axel. (FIG. 4) design uses a customized planetary gear assembly (FIG. 4) #24 as the key method that facilitates greatly enlarging the wheel rim (FIG. 4) #25 to permit installing a non-rotating, compact RWLSU housing unit (FIG. 4) #7 that is rigidly suspended by a mounting plate (FIG. 4) #16 that in turn is attached via the open center area (not shown) of a typical break disc assembly (FIG. 4) #23 and via several pass-through openings in a customized planetary gear assembly (FIG. 4) #24 to the non-rotating drive wheel suspension knuckle unit (FIG. 4) #19. Vehicle breaking functions are provided by the disc break assembly (FIG. 4) #23 in a similar manner as that provided for conventional vehicles. Tire removal is achieved by removing lug bolts (FIG. 4) #25 in a similarly procedure as that performed for regular vehicles, and without the need to remove an RWLSU. The knuckle unit provides: wheel suspension via the upper/lower ball joints (FIG. 4) #20; wheel steering via the knuckle steering arm (FIG. 4) #21; and (three each type) pass-through openings (FIG. 4) #17 & #18 for passing stationary mounting hardware and various cables to the RWLSU (FIG. 4) #7 plus a center opening for passing the vehicle's drive shaft (FIG. 4) #26 through and into the customized planetary gear assembly's (FIG. 4) #24 center opening. The drive shaft (FIG. 4) #26 is securely affixed with a bolt to the back side (not shown) of the knuckle unit and then the knuckle unit is affixed securely to the planetary gear assembly's (FIG. 4) #24 stationary mounting plate (FIG. 4) #35 via six bolts (FIG. 4) #34.

(FIG.) #5 shows a front inside view of a customized planetary gear assembly. The vehicle's drive shaft (FIG. 4) #26 inserts in and rotates the center gear of the planetary assembly (FIG. 5) #28 which then rotates the two smaller gears (FIG. 5) #29 & #30. Small gears (FIG. 5) #30 are affixed to the larger gears (FIG. 5) #31 which then rotates the very large outside gear (FIG. 5) #32 that is attached to and rotates the wheel rim (FIG. 5) #33. Multiple gears as shown are used in series to make the drive shaft and the wheel rim rotate in the same direction. Diameter ratios of the five gears shown (#27 thru #31) are selected to make the drive shaft (FIG. 4) #26 rotate in direct synchronism with the wheels as they do in conventional vehicles. These gear ratio combinations may be adjusted by the vehicle's designers to make the wheels rotate faster or slower than the drive shaft if desired. Mountings for the gear shafts to the fixed assembly hardware plates (FIG. 5) #35 (plus its counterpart rear plate) are not shown to simplify the drawings.

(FIG. 6) shows an expanded view of a RRHS Jersey type barriers (FIG. 6) #37 and its interface with a RWLSU unit's inserted hardware. (FIG. 6) #10 shows the RWLSU's dual rail-wheel latching/steering wheels inserted inside the guide rail steering track (FIG. 6) #38 and rotated by 90 degrees, thus securely latching it inside the guide rail. This procedure also latches the PRRV securely to the RRHS. Also shown is the EIU (FIG. 6) #15 fully extended and in contact with the electrical AC three phase power track (FIG. 6) #39. Internal to the EIU are five, physically independently mounted, spring-loaded electrical conducting wheels. The top and bottom wheels provides electrical ground returns as well as provides safety covers to protect people, and the three middle wheels extract the AC three phase power for the electrical PRRVs. Spring-loaded wheels permits each wheel to “float” on its track to compensate for small variations in track alignment as the PRRV speeds on it way. EIUs are provided at each wheel to extracts and recombines the electrical voltages in a manner that reduces electrical arcing noise.

(FIG. 6) #40 shows the end view of an AC three phase power grid (four wires provide the three electric phases plus a ground return. The ground return is split to provide the two ground returns used by the EIU) that is integrated within the RRHS barrier and it will be connected to the national smart grid that is envisioned to be installed and expanded to support the RRHS power needs nationwide as the nation transitions more fully to all electric PRRVs.

(FIG. 7) is a view of a PRRV (FIG. 7) #3 that is securely latched by its RWLSUs (FIG. 7) #7 to the RRHS GRAs (FIG. 7) #37 and in place on the RRHS's narrow road-rail highway (FIG. 7) #42. Guide rails (FIG. 7) #38 are modular and housed inside rugged Jersey type barrier (FIG. 7) #37 to permit their conveniently replacement when damaged or for swapping out for future upgrading to another, more advanced rail-wheel latching/steering design. (FIG. 7) #9 shows the “sliding angle fixtures” with their dual rail-wheel latching/ steering wheels (FIG. 7) #10 that are positioned and latched inside the guide rails (FIG. 7) #38. (FIG. 7) #15 shows the EIU inserted in the AC three phase power track (FIG. 7) #39. (FIG. 7) #40 is an end view of the AC three phase power grid that provides power for the RRHS. (FIG. 7) #40 shows the RRHS three phase power grids housed safely within a module inside the Jersey type barrier. (FIG. 7) #42 is the RRHS's narrow road-rail highway that supports the vehicles weight and enables very high speed travel (ability to appreciably exceed 100 mph). (FIG. 7) #42 are typical compact support “I” beams that support the elevated road-rail highway's system's weight between the spans of the elevation support structures (FIG. 7) #44. RRHSs are: compact-with their width being about 1½ vehicle wide and their height being about one Jersey type barrier plus the rail-road thickness high when excluding the height of the elevation structures; modular-easy to parallel or vertical stack multiple RRHSs; and cost effective-requiring minimum construction materials due to their compactness, modularity and PRRV's modest weight (heavy and large trucks and equipments are excluded).

The following information is provided for invention completeness. Numerous safety, physical, electrical and automation/ automatic standards comprising the PRRV/RRHS revolutionary travel capability are necessary to be established by the PRRV/RRHS developers and manufactures and approved by the Federal government to ensure safety and automated operational compatibility. These standards will cover numerous essential requirements and features not addressed herein such as: PRRV tires must be of the bullet proof, flat-less Rhino type to maintain PRRV's height when encountering puncturing debris; PRRV doors must be of the van sliding door type or equivalent to permit opening and passenger's exiting from the RRHS without encountering blockage by the jersey barriers; RRHS safety walkways and disembark provisions need to be provided for passengers to exit disabled PRRVs; various RRHS intersection status, alert, warning indicators need to inform PRRVs of their locations relative to the road-rail highway intersections; and lastly numerous smart-phone applications to enhance automation and the driving experience are needed. In conclusion, this invention is envisioned to continue the American love affair with both revolutionary hybrid automobiles and hybrid trains well beyond the 21^(st) century, as the invention's automated driving capabilities is believed to be the forerunner of fully automatic transportation capabilities with features so great they cannot even be fully envisioned at this time. 

1. What is claimed is a process of creation that transforms conventional vehicles into revolutionary dual mode of travel Personal Road-Rail Vehicle (PRRV) that have the convenience of driving as conventional vehicles on conventional roads and the luxury of automated smart-phone assisted driving as revolutionary, high speed PRRVs traveling on compact, electric hybrid, Road-Rail Highway Systems (RRHSs), and this process of creation comprises creation of functionally equivalent to the PRRV's Rail-Wheel Latching/Steering Unit (RWLSU) and its companion RRHSs Guide Rail Assembly(GRA) that in accordance with PRRV's smart-phone high-level tasking instructions: (a) latches and steers each of the PRRV's wheels via their wheel suspension assemblies to the RRHS's GRA in a manner that securely confines and steers the PRRVs via their wheels to the RRHS's compact roadway for high speed travel and for such operations as entering and exiting RRHSs and performing left/right/straight junction operations by properly sequencing the RWLSU's latching and steering operations; and (b) extracts AC electric energy from the RRHS GRA's AC electric tracks for electric PRRVs to power their travel needs. 